Building on its mission to make San Diego the world’s largest IoT platform, the city is partnering with Current to use new digital applications that will improve parking, traffic, and public safety. The smart city apps, along with new CityIQ sensor nodes, could save San Diego an estimated $3.6 million a year in energy and maintenance costs.
Current, which is powered by General Electric, is a digital engine that uses LED technology along with sensors and software to make commercial buildings, retail stores, industrial facilities, and cities more energy efficient and productive. Once installed within the streetlights, the CityIQ sensor nodes can more efficiently monitor and control the lighting systems while tracking actual usage of lights for billing companies, instead of relying on dusk till dawn flat rates.
Current is also rolling out apps for their CityIQ system that can analyze data on the city’s operations and improve citizen’s daily lives. One app, CivicSmart, uses the data to help street parkers by expanding parking availability, while Spotshotter detects gunshots and helps first responders by capturing more than 90 percent of gunshot incidents and reporting the precise location in under a minute.
The Office of Economic Development, San Diego Police Department, and other city departments have already started using CityIQ data to improve traffic flow, and ultimately the safety people in the city. Austin Ashe, the General Manager of Current, hopes that the new technology can encourage entrepreneurship and create jobs while increasing revenue.
“San Diego once again is setting a great example for other cities to follow. Using this rich dense data, the city can develop plans and implement solutions that impact critical citizen issues – all through their app store,” said Ashe. “The possibilities are limitless for San Diego to unlock the potential of the data and use it to benefit both city operations and citizens, today and in the future.”
